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Schoolgirl ‘Bags’ Top Prize in Dairy Design Challenge
Move over Anya Hindmarch – Dale Farm has discovered Northern Ireland’s very own eco designer – and she’s only 13!
Having challenged the NI public to come up with a bespoke design for its first ever eco friendly ‘Dale Farm Bag for Life’, the business has selected a design by Maghera schoolgirl Heather Irwin – making her Northern Ireland’s youngest fashion designer to have her creation printed onto a shopping bag.
Launching the ‘Dale Farm Bag for Life’, which features a classic dairy cow grazing on a lush Northern Ireland pasture, Brian Beattie Dale Farm’s head of marketing explained how the project came about.
“With 80 million Dale Farm products sold every week, this potentially equates to 2 out of ten items going home in an average shopping bag to the 700,000 households across Northern Ireland. As such a large part of consumer life here, and reflecting our commitment to promoting sound environmental practices, it made sense for us to create our own Bag for Life,” said Brian.
“Additionally we know that people here are some way behind the rest of the UK in meeting the set government targets in the use of Bags for Life*. So by giving NI shoppers a very locally-inspired alternative to the plastic bag, we hope it will give them positive ownership and they will be more inclined to use the bags as a result!”
“We chose Heather’s design from hundreds of entries as it really stood out, perfectly reflecting the natural, local message which is at the core of our business,” continued Brian. “We also loved her use of the blue, white and green Dale Farm palette, which is recognised in thousand’s of households across the province as a stamp of freshness and quality.”
Heather, who attends Magherafelt High School, was presented with bags for her family, friends and classmates as well as a deluxe art kit and a year’s worth of free Dale Farm products for her family to enjoy.
“It’s so cool that people across Northern Ireland will be carrying a bag I designed!” said Heather.
“I’d seen the ‘This is not a plastic bag’ design by Anya Hindmarch in loads of magazines so when I heard about the competition I knew that a simple image would work best. Also I’ve lived in the countryside my whole life and my family have always used Dale Farm products, so I had plenty of inspiration.”
“Art is my favourite subject at school and I’d love to work as a designer when I grow up, so I’m really pleased Dale Farm chose my design and that I can now carry my first ever creation around with me!”
The Dale Farm Bag for Life has been endorsed by WRAP, the Waste & Resources Action Programme, the NI spokesperson for the business saying,
“WRAP encourages consumers to consider whether they need to take a bag in the first place and, if so, to reuse bags, for example by using reusable bags. WRAP is supportive of initiatives by retailers and others that encourage consumers to achieve this objective, particularly where the initiative has the potential to make significant behaviour change.”
The ‘Dale Farm Bag for Life’ will be distributed to local politicians, fashionistas and retailers in a bid to highlight the importance of local businesses contributing to eco friendly practices in Northern Ireland.
Notes to the Editors
*A recent survey compiled by WRAP, the Waste & Resources Action Programme, showed Northern Ireland was struggling to meet the 50% reduction target on plastic bag use set by the Department of Environment, having only achieved a target of 38% up to May 2009.
